A long sought after goal of humans has been the ability to fly. We definitely don’t belong in the sky but we’ll give it a go anyway. Enter this guy and his helicopter backpack.
This flying contraption looks like it’s been pulled straight out of a Marvel movie, but rest assured there’s no CGI here.
Meet the CopterPack
This new gadget is known as the CopterPack.
It’s described as an electric backpack helicopter with a self-levelling autopilot. It uses a lightweight airframe made from carbon fibre honeycomb. It’s a manned drone and is equipped with two turbines and joysticks for steering.
The CopterPack took its first flight a week ago and it seemed to go incredibly well. You can see for yourself in the video below.
If that beach-side background seems familiar you’d be correct because CopterPack is a start-up based in Australia. Figures Aussies would be the only ones daring enough to try this.
At this stage, there’s very little known about the CopterPack. It’s electric-powered but there are no details around its battery life or how high and far you can get in a flight.
The vehicle is clearly still in its trial phase so there’s no telling when or if you’ll be able to buy one. There are also a number of safety concerns that would need to be considered before we can all zip around town like Iron Man.
This isn’t the first time humans have created personal flight gadgets.
Most people are familiar with the mysterious appearances of Jet Pack Guy in the US. The strange flying person was spotted multiple times around the Los Angeles International Airport with no explanation.
Jet Pack Guy has even been flagged as a possible hoax after it was suspected the unidentified flying object was just a mannequin strapped to a drone.
Well, in this case, the CopterPack is attached to a very real person, so if you see someone flying around Australian beaches there’s no reason to be alarmed. In fact, get excited and then maybe we can all buy one in the future.